KINGS PETER OUT AGAINST AVS FORSBERG DOES IT TO L.A. AGAIN COLORADO 4, KINGS 1.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

The difference between the Kings and Colorado Avalanche always is the same. Peter Forsberg.

It didn't matter whether the Kings entered Thursday night undefeated and the Avs were winless. The past two seasons, Colorado finished off the Kings in the playoffs and Forsberg was the reason.

This time, his second goal midway through the third period helped bury the Kings 4-1 in front of 18,118 at Staples Center.

``You have to count Peter with the Jaromir Jagrs and Joe Sakics in this league,'' Kings captain and fellow Swede Mattias Norstrom said. ``He hurt us last year, and he is still hurting us.''

It might have been different if the Kings hadn't played without Ziggy Palffy, and they lost Bryan Smolinski to a knee injury in the first period. As a result, Jason Allison was held without a shot.

But the Avalanche remembers the last regular season, which Forsberg missed with a variety of injuries only to come back and lead the NHL in scoring in the playoffs.

``We've started slowly and took a lot of heat for that,'' former Kings defenseman Rob Blake said. ``But when we have Peter on his game, it gives us such an edge.''

Sakic and defenseman Adam Foote scored for the Avs in addition to Forsberg. Eric Belanger scored for the Kings, whose 3-0-0 start was their best since going 4-0-3 to open the 1995-96 season.

The turning point came early in the third period of a tie game, when Foote was whistled for boarding. The Kings had several excellent scoring chances against goaltender Patrick Roy.

But two minutes later, Brad Larson chipped the puck out of the Colorado zone. Foote jumped out of the penalty box and skated in on Kings goaltender Felix Potvin to score his first goal of the year.

Six minutes later, Forsberg took a pass from Sakic, skated around Potvin, who stopped 28 of 32 shots, and tucked it in between the post and Potvin's left leg.

The Avalanche, which many consider the favorite to win its second Stanley Cup in three years, started slowly with just two goals in its first two games (0-1-1).

Part of it might be the training-camp deal that sent top young forward Chris Drury to the Calgary Flames in return for defenseman Derek Morris. Drury had at least 20 goals in each of his first four NHL seasons.

But the Avs caught a break early Thursday when Kings center Brad Chartrand was whistled for a bad roughing penalty in the Colorado zone.

The Avalanche set up the power play with Blake on the point. As the crowd booed, he unloaded his signature blast that struck Potvin in the chest. The puck popped out and Forsberg scored on the rebound. Morris also had an assist on the play.

Colorado had another solid scoring chance at the 6:01 mark of the second period, when Adam Deadmarsh was sent off for holding the stick of Serge Aubin at 6:01.

But Ian Laperriere, playing in place of Smolinski on the second line, batted down a pass in the Colorado zone and skated in on Roy.

Laperriere then made a cross-ice pass in front to Belanger, who tied the game 1-1.

``We didn't battle the way we can,'' Belanger said. ``Losing Bryan hurt us more on defense. Injuries are part of the game. But we didn't have him on the penalty kill, and they were on the power play eight times. That hurt.''

Though the Avs held a 13-8 shot advantage, the Kings nearly got out of the second period with the lead.

Colorado already had Foote in the penalty box when Blake was called for tripping Allison.

The Kings had the NHL's leading power play last season but could not capitalize on 55 seconds of a five-on-three advantage. Allison came closest, taking a pass from Deadmarsh to the right of Roy, but he fired the puck just wide.

``We can't talk about fatigue,'' Laperriere said. ``It's the fourth game of the season. There is no excuse. Nobody was tired.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Kings' Mikko Eloranta falls on the ice next to Colorado's Greg de Vries (7) during L.A.'s 4-1 loss Thursday at Staples Center.

(2) The Kings' Alexander Frolov (24) tries to get a shot off during L.A.'s 4-1 loss to Colorado on Thursday.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News